Isaac spent the drive from the hospital back to the station thinking about his partner and how close he came to being killed that morning. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
By the time he got back to the station, he’d worked up a pretty good swell of rage. He took it with him when he went straight up to the fourth floor detectives section and back to interrogation room 3.
He busted into the room wearing that rage like a breastplate of armor.
“Jasper Duke.”
His tone held a lot of accusation when he called the name out. He closed the door behind him and then sat on the table, propping one foot up on the seat of a chair, and glared at the man in the cage.
Man was a generous term.
Isaac knew from the file that Duke was 23, and anybody that could beat a defenseless elderly person to death wasn’t anywhere near a man in his eyes. He was an animal.
Duke sat up straight when he got a good look at Isaac, and he scooted slightly back toward the wall.
Fear.
That’s what Isaac saw in Duke’s eyes. And his overactive sense of empathy allowed him to feel it too. This man was afraid of him.
Isaac liked that.
“As you can see,” Isaac gestured to his own torso, “I haven’t had time to go change my shirt. I’m still wearing my partner’s blood. And you ought to be damn happy that he’s alive, because if he wasn’t, I’d be killing you right now without ever laying a hand on your sorry ass.”
His voice was a snarl, and the look of fear in Duke’s eyes spread all over his face and body. The man inched back even closer to the concrete wall behind him, trying to get as far away from Isaac as he could.
Isaac’s rage went up like a torch.
His right hand began to tingle, telekinesis at the ready.
“Wh-what are you, dude?” Jasper Duke asked, clearly terrified. “How did you do that? You threw me across the room like I was a toy, but you never came anywhere near me.”
Isaac glared at Duke. He wanted to threaten to do it again if Duke didn’t tell him what he wanted to know. But he knew he couldn’t do that. He had no clue why he’d been given these strange inherited abilities, but he knew that he couldn’t abuse them in that way.
Silently he reached back and started the video recorder for a proper interview. After stating the date, time, and people present, he turned back to Duke.
“I don’t appreciate being shot at, Jasper. I really don’t appreciate having to rush my partner to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the gut. And you’d better be real happy that there’s a cage between you and me right now.”
Jasper Duke stared at him, but he didn’t say a word.
“Nothing to say? What? You’re all tough when you’re with your racist buddies.” Isaac chucked a thumb in the general direction of the pit and said, “We’ve got the three of you on film talking shit and beating up random people of color. What’s the matter? You can’t talk shit when it’s just one-on-one? Can you piss by yourself or do you only do that with your buddies too?”
Still no word from Jasper Duke, and Isaac chuckled, but it was a slightly menacing sound.
“Yeah, you’re a little pussy once you get separated from the herd, aren’t you? Well, Jasper, you’re being charged with three counts of felonious assault, two counts of first degree murder, and the attempted murder of a cop. And unless you give up your two boyfriends you’ll be facing all those charges all on your own.”
Silence as Jasper Duke stared at Isaac in what seemed like total fear.
“Still nothing, huh? Well, that’s fine. I’ll catch them without your help.”
He stood and turned off the recorder. Then he left the room telling the uniformed officer at the door, “Take him down to booking. Three counts of felonious assault, two counts of first degree murder, and the attempted murder of a cop.”
“You got it, Detective.”
When that was done, Isaac jogged down the two flights of stairs to the second floor and marched back to the evidence lockup. It was a huge space that was buried at the very back of this floor, past the large dispatch office and records section.
A long half wall with a ledge guarded the space while chain link fencing served as the upper half of the wall. Standing guard at the makeshift window in the chain link was a stoic uniformed officer with a very disinterested expression on his humorless face.
“Good afternoon, Sgt. Pope.”
“Detective Sgt. Taylor. What can I do for you?”
“I would like for any electronic evidence that came in from the Jasper Duke house this morning to be transferred up to the IT department.”
Pope consulted his log book. “I’ve got a laptop, two cellphones, and a gaming console. I can request for someone from IT to come get them as soon as possible.”
“That’s all right. I have no problem hand delivering them.”
“Give me a minute.”
He left the window and ventured back into the bowels of the lockup. A few minutes later he emerged with four sealed evidence bags of various sizes containing the equipment.
“You sure you want to take all this yourself?”
“Yep. Hand it over.”
“You might want to sign it out first.”
Pope slid the log book over, and Isaac signed his name and badge number. Then he took possession of the items, stacking the gaming console on top of the laptop in one arm and the two cellphones in the other hand.
“Thanks, Pope.”
“I was happy to hear your partner’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
Isaac left there and went straight up to the fifth floor and strode into the IT section.
“Ike?”
He turned around and saw Lt. John Barton walking toward him. “Hey, John. Just the man I wanted to see.”
“What’s all that?” John moved slowly and took the gaming console from him, making sure not to accidentally touch Isaac’s skin. Ike loved that about him. He wished all of his coworkers would be as attentive to that particular detail. But unfortunately it was a precaution only a few seemed concerned with.
John Barton used to make the effort because he was afraid of Isaac for some strange reason. But after Isaac had saved his life when a shooter opened fire in the detectives pit last year, John had declared them friends. Now Isaac figured he made the effort out of respect.
“Come on.” John motioned for Isaac to follow him into his office.
“This is all the electronic evidence from the shooter’s house this morning.”
“Oh, yeah, we heard that call go out this morning. I wanted to go to the hospital but I was up to my elbows in work here. I heard Pete is going to be okay though.”
“Yes, the doctor called it a minor miracle that the bullet didn’t hit anything vital.”
John blew air through his lips. “Doctors. I call that a major miracle.”
“You and me, both.” Isaac set the rest of the stuff on the small table in John’s office. “Listen, John… I know I don’t have to explain to you why it’s so important that this stuff be prioritized.”
“No, you don’t, Ike. That bastard and his friends were already scum for what they were doing. But now they’ve shot a cop. This moves to the front of the line and I’ll handle it personally.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“No problem, buddy. Leave it with me.”
Isaac did just that. When he left the IT department, he finally made his way to the locker room to change out of his bloody shirt. All he had in his locker was a long-sleeved dark blue t-shirt with the Cleveland Police Department emblem on the chest. It would have to do.
Once changed, he stuffed the ruined, bloody shirt into a trash can. At the sink he noticed smudges of blood under his chin where he’d gotten some of it smeared there and on his neck.
“Shit.”
He removed the t-shirt and quickly soaped up his hands and cleaned the blood away. Then he took a handful of paper towels to dry himself. Turning the water to cold, he splashed a little on his face and took a minute to just breathe and steady himself.
It had been one hell of a stressful day.
He pulled the t-shirt on again and left the locker room feeling a little better. But he had two more killers to find, so he needed to get back to work, whether he felt better or not.
Finally back at his desk, Isaac spent the rest of the day looking into Jasper Duke’s life, starting with his financials.
Duke worked construction for Buckley Builders. It was one of those outfits that specialized in building commercial properties in and around the city. But there were half a dozen questionable payments for sizable amounts of cash that appeared in his account at random intervals.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty little red flag?” Isaac mumbled to himself.
He printed off that page and kept digging, moving on to Duke’s social media accounts. They all painted the picture Isaac had expected to see — lots of racist propaganda and hate speech. But there was nothing in any of it that gave Isaac an indication of who his two cohorts in the hate crime beatings might be.
“Who are your friends, Jasper Duke?” Isaac mumbled aloud to no one. “They can run, but they can’t hide from me for long. I will hunt them down.”
* * *
“Hey, Sarge. You’re working awfully late.”
Isaac looked up when Isadora Cruz, one of the night shift detectives, spoke to him. He glanced at his watch and noted that it was a full hour after shift change.
“Yeah, you’re not sitting in my chair yet, Sgt. Taylor,” Gavin Hayes said, walking toward him. “Go home.”
Isaac ran both hands over his face and sighed. “Why didn’t anybody tell me that shift change had come and gone?”
“We tried to, Ike,” Tom Polanski, Cruz’s partner smirked at him. “But you were so engrossed in whatever you were doing that you didn’t hear us.”
“It’s this case. I was going back over the file, looking at everything the Violent Crimes division did before handing the case over to us. It’s just so frustrating to be given a case and ten minutes later your partner gets shot.”
“Oh, my God, I couldn’t believe it when I heard. Keisha Harris texted to tell me,” Detective Sasha Palmer chimed in, talking about one of Isaac’s fellow day shift colleagues.
“Yeah, I think she texted all of us,” Isadora said. “Tom and I dropped by the hospital on our way in this evening.”
“Yeah, how’s Pete doing?”
Isaac let them talk among themselves as he put the files away.
Gavin leaned down on his desk. “Seriously, Ike. Go home and get some rest. Come at it fresh in the morning.”
“I’m going, Lieu. I just feel like I’m playing catch up on the fly here. Like I was plopped into the middle of this thing without any of the build up.”
“And in a very real sense, you were.” Gavin nodded. “I would apologize for that, but it’s the nature of the beast. No one could’ve known that Pete would be shot ten minutes after the two of you were handed this case.”
“No, I know that, Lieu. And I’m not complaining.” Isaac shut off his computer and got to his feet, gathering his things. “I just know I’ll feel better once I’m fully up to speed on this one.”
“I get it. And I’m offering one last time to forgo my travel plans and stay here. That would give you the freedom to focus solely on this case without the added pressure of taking on acting head of homicide duties at the same time.”
Isaac suppressed a grin. The truth was, it was a hugely tempting offer and part of him wanted to jump on it. After all, what the hell did he know about running the Homicide division? Even for a few days.
But something inside of him wouldn’t let him accept Gavin’s offer. It was almost like some unknown force was pushing him to take this three-day-trial-by-fire on for some reason.
“Thanks for the offer, Lieu. But I’m sure I can handle you being away for a few days. I think the good men and women of homicide will be gentle with me. Right, guys?”
He glanced around at the four night shift detectives.
“Oh, yeah,” Cruz said, sounding distracted.
“Right,” Lynn Driscoll agreed with no idea what the question was.
“Sure thing,” Sasha Palmer tried to sound certain, but she clearly had no clue what they were talking about either.
“Whatever you say, Sarge.” Polanski said, reading over a file.
Isaac looked at Gavin, who was trying not to smile.
“Sounds like solid support,” Gavin said with a straight face.
“Doesn’t it though?”
They left the pit together, chatting about Gavin’s upcoming trip. He and Gerri would be boarding a plane for Georgia in the morning, along with her parents and her brother and sister-in-law, and their two kids. Isaac found his boss’s discomfort with the situation amusing, but he would never say that to his face.
They parted ways in the parking lot, and Isaac pointed his car toward the hospital. He wanted to check in on Pete one more time before calling it a day.
When he did finally make it home, his four-legged friend met him at the door, and Isaac let the familiar, friendly meows welcome him home.
“Hey there Mr. Hitchcock.” He picked up the cat. “Okay now, don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you might want to consider letting up a little on the kitty kibble.”
“Meow-ow.”
“Well, don’t get offended. I’m just saying it feels like you might’ve put on a pound or two. That’s all.”
The cat purred in his ear and Isaac carried him into the living room where Sidney was half-sitting, half-laying on the sectional. Rear Window was on the TV, but Sidney was fast asleep.
Isaac smiled as he leaned over and kissed her lips.
Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, running a hand through her mountain of curls. “Hey, baby. You’re home.”
“Hey yourself.”
“I guess I fell asleep.”
“I guess you did. I’m sorry to be so late.”
“That’s okay. You warned me that you might be. Dinner is in the crockpot. It’s ready whenever you are.”
“Well, I’m ready now. Let’s dive in.”
He removed his gun and holster and put it away. But he didn’t even bother getting out of his work clothes. He was too hungry.
They sat down to steaming bowls of soup, a garden salad, and bread.
“I don’t know what this is, but it looks and smells delicious.”
Sidney smiled at him.“Thanks.”
“What is it?”
Sidney laughed, and Isaac smiled at her. He loved making her laugh. It was one of his missions in life.
“It’s spicy seafood soup. Tilapia, shrimp, scallops and crabmeat in a tomato base with spices and herbs. Cooks a few hours in the crockpot, easy peasy.”
Isaac broke off a small hunk of the crusty whole wheat baguette and dipped it into his soup. “Mmm mmm! I like it. Very good.”
“I’m glad. Now, I can probably guess how the rest of your day went, but just tell me… did you make any progress on the case?”
“Some. I got the head of IT working on the electronics we gathered from the suspect’s house. That suspect is now sitting in our jail waiting on his arraignment.”
“So he’s been charged?”
“Oh, yeah. He shot a cop, darlin’. If nothing else he’ll be charged for that. I just hope ballistics shows his gun matches what they pulled out of Pete.”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“Well, because there were at least two people in that house at the time of the shooting. I saw one run out the back as I was charging in the front.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, and there were three men on the video footage of the beatings, so we know that the guy in our jail had two accomplices. That’s who I spent the remainder of my day hunting for.”
“I’ve seen that footage on the news. Where did it come from anyway?”
“One of the beatings took place on the sidewalk in front of a bank that had a camera mounted above the door. Part of their security surveillance.”
Sidney nodded. “So… any luck hunting for those other two beaters?”
“Not yet. But we’ll get them.” Isaac sighed and reached for the soup tureen to refill his bowl for seconds. “I went back by the hospital to see Pete on my way home.”
“How was he?”
“He’s all right, I guess. He was in a good deal of pain, but honestly… I think he’s more worried about what’s going to happen with Jada than anything else right now.”
“Why? Did they argue or something?”
“No. I don’t thing they argued. But when I was there this afternoon he said that she’d told him she didn’t know if she could marry another man with such a dangerous job.”
“Oh, no.” Sidney’s voice was a dread-filled groan and her shoulders fell about a foot. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”
“Why? Did she say something to you?”
“Only the very same thing she said to Pete. And she asked me how I did it.”
“Did what?”
“How did I build a life with a man who has such a dangerous job. It was the sound of her voice, you know? I knew her thoughts were spiraling out of control.”
“Well, what did you tell her?”
“I told her that we can’t dwell on the possible danger or we’ll drive ourselves mad. Instead we have to focus on the men we love and try to be their safe place in the harsh world they work in.”
Isaac reached out and took Sidney’s hand. “That was good advice, darlin’. I hope Jada takes it to heart.”
“I do too. I think I’ll see if I can’t take her to lunch tomorrow or something. Just to see if she wants to talk some more.”
Isaac nodded. “I think that might be a good idea.”
He finished his second bowl of soup and then studied his wife. “How was the rest of your day, beautiful?”
“Thankfully, it was nowhere near as eventful as the morning. Aside from worrying about Jada and Pete, it was mostly routine.”
“That’s good. There’s a lot to be said for routine. I’m coming to like it more and more.”
Sidney smiled at him, and Isaac pushed his empty bowl away and leaned in close, taking her hand again and bringing it to his lips.
“Do you know what else I’m coming to like more and more?” He kissed the inside of her wrist. And then her arm.
“I have a sneaking suspicion.”
“What do you say we go over to the couch and make out like a couple of teenagers in high school?”
“Mmm. Just make out, huh?”
“Oh, we can go around the bases if you want to. I always wanted to try and slide home.”
Sidney laughed out loud. “You do know that I’m pretty much a sure thing where you’re concerned, right?”
“Ooh, an easy girl!” He heard the teasing tone in his own voice, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her. Sidney laughed again. “I always wanted to date one of them in high school.”
“Easy there, big boy. I’m fairly sure you’ve got some homework that needs your attention first.”
“Aww, come on. I’ll do it afterwards.”
“Afterwards, you’ll suggest that we cuddle for a while and then you’ll fall asleep and it won’t get done at all.”
“Who’s side are you on?”
“Yours. Always. That’s why I won’t let you short change yourself. I want you to get the absolute most out of this online degree experience.”
“So holding out until I do my classwork for the evening? Is this going to be your standard operating procedure until I get this online degree?”
Sidney smiled. “Maybe not all the time. If you’re a good boy.”
Isaac lowered his head. “That is cold-blooded. You’re going to bribe me to do my schoolwork everyday, aren’t you?”
“Would it go better if I said I promise to be a very good girl if you do your schoolwork first?”
Isaac narrowed his eyes. “How good?”
“I’ll-do-anything-you-want good.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Anything?”
“Any. Thing.”
“Done.”
He stood up and headed to the home office where his desktop computer was set up. He could hear Sidney laughing as he made his way down the hall.
He sat down and fired up the computer, pulling out his textbook and the large legal pad he used to scribble notes and work through his assignments.
He’d enrolled in an online degree program at the urging of Lt. Gavin Hayes, who kept telling him that he had what it took to be a good lieutenant himself one day. Isaac still had no idea how he felt about that prospect. But he could admit to himself that the fact his boss thought so highly of his work and his potential did feel good.
He’d only just begun the course — an accredited program that would earn him an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. If he’d chosen to take classes at night from one of the area colleges, the same program would take him two years. At least through this online program Sidney’d found, he could work through the whole course at his own pace. If he really buckled down, he believed he could do it in less than two years.
So far, he was finding the course work mostly a breeze. Maybe it was because he’d been working in the criminal justice system for sixteen years now. Maybe it was because he was actually smarter than he’d given himself credit for.
Then again, it had only been a week.
It was difficult to concentrate with the new case running through his head in the background, but he forced himself to set it aside.
It took him an hour and a half to run through his lesson and get his assignment done. When he finally turned off the light and left the room the house was dark.
In the hallway he could smell the soft notes of Sidney’s lavender and rose scented bubblebath. An image of her in the water had his manhood stiffening before he even reached the bedroom.
He closed the door behind him and began stripping out of his clothes, leaving a trail as he made his way to the large, spa-like bathroom.
He stood in the doorway completely naked and stared at her, watching as she ran a bath sponge over her water-slicked, shapely leg.
Damn, she was sexy.
And she was all his.
“Can I help you with that, darlin’?”
Sidney looked up at him, her champagne-colored, light brown eyes taking him in. Her coy smile told him she liked what she saw.
“Looks to me like you’ve got something I can help you with, big boy.”
“Oh, you definitely can.”
He walked over and carefully stepped down into the sunken tub, letting the deliciously hot water envelop him. As soon as he was situated, Sidney moved forward, water sloshing around them. She climbed into his lap, facing him, and Isaac’s arms went around her like it was automatic.
“You’re being awfully forward, madam.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought I had a promise to fulfill.”
“Mmm, that’s right. A promise to do anything I want.” His hands slipped down her back.
“Mmm hmm.” She ran her fingers through his hair, and Isaac released a soft moan. “So what will it be, Detective? What can I do for you?”
“Well, first of all,” he kissed the tender spot between her breasts and then looked up into her eyes. “You can tell me if you think it’s possible for a person to have so much sex that they lose consciousness?”
“Lose consciousness?”
“Mmm hmm. Just OD on orgasms to the point of passing out.” He latched on to her left nipple, sucking hard, and Sidney shuddered.
“Ah! Um… I…”
Still feasting at her breast, he took the other in his hand and gently squeezed, twisting the nipple this way and that.
Sidney arched into him, her body begging for more while she tried to hold a conversation with him.
“I’m not… sure that’s… um… possible.”
With his free hand, he found the tight bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs and gently rubbed her there. He knew it was sensory overload, and he smiled when Sidney went off like a rocket.
Her entire body vibrated and she called out his name before she slumped against him.
Still panting she looked into his eyes. “How the hell do you do that with just your mouth and a few fingers?”
Isaac grinned at her. “What can I say? I just like finding new ways to give you physical pleasure.”
“But I’m supposed to be pleasing you tonight, remember?”
“You do please me, darlin’. And you don’t have to do anything special or fancy to get the job done. All you’ve got to do is let me inside. Cause that is my absolute favorite place to be.”
“Is it now?”
“Yes, it is. And it doesn’t matter what position we’re in, or who’s on top. I just want to be inside you.” He threaded his fingers into her curly hair and dragged her mouth to his. The kiss was full of longing and desire, and the longer it lasted the more urgent it became.
They moved in tandem. His hands went around her small waist and he pulled her up and closer to him. Positioning her over him for perfect entry.
She slid down on his shaft, and their loud, joint moan of bliss filled the air like a power ballad. Sidney’s legs spread wider, allowing her to sink even lower onto him.
“That’s right, baby. Take every inch of my big dick.”
“Oooh, yes!”
He captured her mouth again and they started to move. They rocked together, their bodies grinding against each other. Water sloshing rhythmically around them.
He loved these moments. These private, stolen moments when he could lose himself in her and their love. Sex with his wife always did more to soothe the frustrations of the day than any other stress reliever he knew. Sidney had the power to make everything better. Her touch, her kiss. The way she looked at him like he was the greatest man she knew.
Priceless.
And so damn shocking he knew he’d never fully understand it. But God, was he grateful.
They sailed into the abyss of ecstasy together. Isaac wrapped his arms tight around her, taking her with him as he leaned back against the wall of the tub.
“Thank you so much,” Isaac whispered, still holding her tight.
“What for, baby?” Sidney sounded winded and satisfied.
“Hmm?”
She sat up and looked Isaac in the eyes.
“You said thank you. What are you thanking me for?” She looked puzzled.
“Oh. Well, I wasn’t actually talking to you, darlin’. Sorry about that.”
“Then who were you talking to?”
Isaac stared into her eyes. “God.”
That surprised her. He could tell.
“God?”
“Yep. Thanking Him for bringing you into my life. You are everything, Sidney. You are the blue skies and the starry nights.”
Sidney’s smile lit up from somewhere deep. Isaac could see the slow burn of it.
“There goes my silver tongued, sweet-talking husband again.”
He grinned at her sarcasm. “What do you say we wash each other up and then take this party to the bedroom?”
“Wash each other up, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re going to be prunes by the time we make it to the bedroom.”